


Bodysnatching is Bad

by aranya



Series: Maker Preserve Their Stupid, Stupid Souls [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Comedy, Dragon Age Spoilers, Ice Skating, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Multi, Probably more characters, Profanity, Profanity while ice skating, Slow Burn, Surprise guest plus uninvited guest, bodysnatcher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aranya/pseuds/aranya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman who was not grey, did not have claws for nails and definitely did not hallucinate about <em>nerd games</em> like Dragon Age of all things suddenly finds herself doing all of the above. Follow her in her stolen qunari body as she tries to change fate, rid the world of demons and get along with a surprise guest who is always a little too close for comfort.</p><p>Remember kids, <strike>drugs</strike> bodysnatching is bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enough of These Fade Charades

It _pulsated_. Each wave of energy underneath that shitstorm of green made the skin around it boil angrily. There was not even a second to think as the crippling waves came. Her knees collapsed under her as she gripped her wrist tight, somehow hoping she could will the pain into fading away. Instead it responded by festering into a crackling light forcing screams to cut through the silence, momentarily stunning any lurking denizens.

The woman hunched over, knees and legs drenched and soaked to the bone, as tears welled up and fell from her eyes. She clenched her teeth as the pain subsided to something less than excruciating, the only thing she could focus on was her breathing.

 _'In, and out. In, and out. Just.'_ A pause in her thoughts as she screamed. _'Breathe.'_

The momentary respite was just that. Momentary. And soon, another cry was ripped from her as the mark flared and scorched her skin once more.

"Stop," A whisper, to no one in particular, voice hoarse and quiet.

"Make it stop."

The mark did not heed her plea nor her soft spoken command and the woman found herself gritting her teeth through the pulses as they subsided.

Because that was all she could do.

Grin and bear it.

There wasn't exactly any grinning at the moment but details did not seem to matter at that time.

When the pain had become tolerable, she curled in on herself, head resting on her knees, eyes closed in pure relief. She hadn't even had time to ponder her whereabouts before this accursed thing on her hand had practically tried to kill her. As she straightened herself out, and lifted herself from the puddle she prayed was _just_ water, she wondered if she could sue glowing marks for attempted murder.

_'Probably not.'_

Though as she took a closer look at her marked hand, concentrating on closing and opening her fingers to check if they still worked, and wincing at the terrible burn marks that made it all the way to her elbow, several trains of thought seemed to hit her at once.

"Ah. Shibal." _Ah. Fuck._

Not only did she notice that her fingers did not respond the way she wanted them to, as it took a considerable amount of effort to even move them, but her skin was in fact, grey. Not the pasty pale colour she had generously slathered liters of sunscreen for. Nope. It was straight up grey and would have been devoid of colour, if not for the angry red burns and the glowing green mark decorating her arm like it was goddamn Christmas.

"Ah, Seung Bae what have you done?" A worried and slightly exasperated tone entered her voice.  
Seung Bae was a lot of things. She was outgoing, curious and sometimes too nosy for her own good. She liked going to mixes, was a snarky socialite, and could drink any man she met under a table. She loved her friends, loved her family and had a big heart for anyone willing to open up to her.

Seung Bae was not grey. Seung Bae did not have claws for nails. Seung Bae definitely did not hallucinate about _nerd games_ like Dragon Age of all things.

Okay that was a lie. She did dream about them a little. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone.

And even if she had thought this was fake or a dream. _‘Or a set up.’_ After that horrendously painful round of writhing around in random puddles of shit she found it difficult to continue believing that. Maybe it was a coma dream. Seung had probably just gotten a little too much to drink last night, maybe someone snuck something in her drink and as a result, incredibly vivid dreams-no nightmares of pain and floating demon domain.

Her train of thought came to skidding halt as she heard as she heard echoes of something harrowing and vile in the distance. Who cared if this was a dream or not?! She sure as hell wouldn’t be the one to find out by dying! And she would rather drop dead right now than discover whatever horrible thing was making that sound.

So of course Seung tried to run. And wow! What luck! She was tripping over her own legs like a toddler.

_‘Insufficient skill level. Insufficient skill level. Insufficient skill level!’_

The more the woman scrambled to get up, the more wrong everything felt. Her limbs would not heed her commands, every step she tried to take was greatly miscalculated where she either stomped the ground underneath her or didn’t even manage to lift her leg high enough off the ground. There were a few times she thought she was going to fall over and break something yet her body seemed to choose then and there to tough it out.

Everything also felt heavier than it was supposed to be, and as the noises were getting closer and closer, causing her heart to beat loud and frightened against her rib cage, she found out why. The crooked landscape of stone and water that hummed around her was not only filled with shit and demons. There were random things scattered around the area, like souvenirs from past victims of the fade. At first, when she caught a sight of movement she thought it might have been someone else trapped here too. Someone that was actually supposed to be here unlike her. Seung stumbled her way back but instead of catching sight of her potential saviour she just stared back at a reflection of herself.

Or at least, it should have been her.

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t her and it was wrong. She recognised nothing in the reflection, her small slender frame having been replaced by a fit and lean body. The short 5’3 was now a whopping 5’11 and the flawless skin she prided herself on having was smattered with scars, some faded with time while other seemed new and raw. Seung’s face was no longer an oval shape with fine features and sharp narrows eyes that she had always thought had made her look like a bit mischievous. Gawking back at her were sharp, tired eyes on an angular face with defined cheekbones. The reflection had long, white, worn out hair, small pointy ears with three piercings. Claw marks on her shoulder, and a jagged scar from below her cheekbone to under her jaw. Plump lips, that protruded slightly. Her roman nose was strong and important, the kind of nose Caesar would have envied. Thin brows, not overly plucked, but not thick and brutish either.

This was wrong. It was wrong, wrong, _wrong_. The need to claw everything off in the hopes it was just some sort of disgusting second skin rose making Seung impulsively scratch her cheek, the side without the scar. It drew blood.

“No, no, no, no, _no!_ What the hell-what the hell is going on?!” Her voice rose in volume, cracking from panic as her nails dug into her arms. The reflection moved with her, mocking her with its appearance and in a moment of blind rage and frustration, she pounded her fists against the cold surface to destroy the glass.


	2. Fade to Black

****Seung fell to her knees, glaring at the shaking hands covered in her-no. This body wasn’t hers. It wasn’t her blood. It couldn’t be.

Her breathes made tremors rack through her body. Salt stung the wounds on her cheek. She froze, then angrily wiped the tears away, irritating the cuts on her face and causing a sharp intake of breath.

Seung was a woman who prided herself on being able to keep her calm. She would smile at annoying customers during her work as a real estate agent when they found the smallest things to complain about. She had gotten into arguments before and could take the sharp sting of words without losing her shit and yelling back. Even when people tried to hit her for whatever stupid reason she would try her best to just walk away. So if there was one thing she was determined to do, it was to stay calm.

It was hard though, especially when the screeching of some ungodly creature brought her back from her panicked daze and she could hear the blood pounding in her ears.

This was why everything had felt heavy. This was why her voice had sounded weird. This was why she couldn’t walk properly. Seung wanted to scream as she dug her talons into her arms, desperate to know it wasn’t real. It would have been a little less frightening if she had been here in her own body. This would have been slightly more _okay_ with her own body. This body wasn’t even hers and the pain was an agonising reminder that everything was all too _real._

 _‘You don’t know a good thing ‘til it’s gone,’_ She thought morbidly.

Another screech knocked her back into reality. She stood up and started running again. She didn’t want to know what was chasing her. She didn’t want to think about the screaming. She didn’t even have any time to think. She just had to _run._

The young woman sighed in relief as she took notice of a brilliant blue glow, letting go of her arms to try and run faster towards the rays of hope.

“Hey!” She yelled, panting slightly.

The light spun quickly in place and in the center was a spirit. She seemed alarmed at the qunari’s approach, distress leaking from her incorporeal form. Their eyes met for a single moment but the spirit’s gaze broke away quickly and she disappeared around a corner of jagged rocks.

“Wait!” Seung pleaded, her scarred hand reaching out in front of her, “ _Jebal! Dowajuseyo!_ ”

_I’m begging you! Please help me!_

As she rounded the corner, the young woman was met with a familiar sight. A wide, towering staircase stood tall and proud before her despite its pathetic, crumbling state. At the very top was a bright ray of hope and faith, and next to her, an unnatural green vortex, warping the very space it occupied as it crackled and shimmered.

Seung stopped, revelling in the light that shone upon her. She could feel herself relax, the muscles in her stolen body becoming less tense.

 _‘Why am I...oh.’_ Her gaze did not leave the spirit as reason returned to her mind and she took her first step up the giant staircase. The spirit’s light affected her in surreal ways. ‘ _That’s the nature of the spirit isn’t it? Hope or some bullshit like that.’_ She tightened her fists, angry that she let the spirit sway her emotions.

“Abomination,” She heard, a solid, neutral tone, as if just stating a fact. “Not a demon?” It asked as she felt something light poke at her side. “What are you Seung Bae?” The disembodied voice floated around her, comforting her. ‘ _Nope not this again.’_ This terrible situation was bad enough, Seung did not need to be interrogated by a dead person. _She_ wasn’t dead. _Yet_. Although that may have been preferable to wearing someone else’s body.

She opened her mouth to speak. “Not here,” It spoke patiently, palliating her suspicions of the spirit, “Not yet. Lest the demon finds us again. Come, quickly child of Earth.”

She made her way towards the spirit, a calm, soft glow next to the chaos of the rift. But once she was facing the Divine imposter, as if to stop Seung from leaving, a horrendous, angry shrieking filled the air. Her head snapped back. She saw what it was. She really wished she hadn’t.

Time slowed down, or maybe her thoughts sped up, she could register what was coming after her. Fear seeped into her skin, seizing her, petrifying her where she stood.

Its jaw hung wide open, barely clinging to the hinges, releasing a piercing screech that left her ears ringing. Sunken eyes, glazed over from rot, followed her. Grey, decaying skin was stretched tight against stark, white bones. Long, skeletal limbs ended in sharp black nails. It was already so tall, even hunched over, so emaciated that its spine dug out of the skin of its back as if trying to claw its way out. She couldn’t breath. She couldn’t think.

It came for her. She was going to die. Seung was going to be torn up in its murderous, greedy rampage, this body would be torn apart. She almost felt sorry for the original inhabitant. What a way to go. Ripped limb from limb and eaten alive. ‘ _Mianhae Adaar.’ I’m sorry Adaar._

Seung immediately turned around, scrambling up the stairs for safety. The spirit impersonating Dorothea stretched out her arm for the qunari woman, pleading her to take hold. She yanked Seung by the not-fucked-up arm, followed by a very gentle push into what might as well have been a portal leading to the bottom of the ocean. She could feel a strange pull on her back, as if the fade was refusing to let go of her. Her vision was plunged into darkness and for a moment Seung thought she would be stuck in this limbo, tugged at from both sides. The body she was in ached, it may not have been able to take the stress any longer. She might have actually been trapped in that empty abyss until she was torn apart.

Then she saw the comforting blue light again and was spat out onto dusty, solid ground. Shouts filled the air, making her ears ring. Why was everyone yelling at the same time? She watched someone approach, their face decorated with dark red marks of some sort. She felt the ache and sting of her muscles and wounds. As the painted man brushed white hair from her vision, her eyes slowly shut, succumbing to the sleep that had been promised by exhaustion.

 

* * *

 

Her vision fades in and out and she thinks she is dreaming.

Whenever the dreams come she murmurs in her native tongue, entranced by the light surrounding her, stark and bright against the darkness. A blurry man is often with her and at first she thinks it is another nightmare, tries to fight him off, hissing curses that would make her mother cry. The man stops briefly, watching her to see if she will speak again, but her mission has been accomplished and he is no longer bothering her body. Then it radiates pain with each spark of light that dances around the room and after a surprised cry from her, the man continues fiddling with her arm. A soft blanket of blue falls over her and she is pulled away from the waking world.

Another time she can hear voices. They try to keep quiet but even then it is overwhelming, as if a thousand whispers bombard her ears, each one desperate to be heard. This time there is another figure, though her eyes won’t open wide enough to escape her blurry vision, she can see this one is different. This one has black hair, or maybe it’s a hat. It’s quite hard to tell she thinks. This one stops what it is doing and like last time, watches her. Then walks towards her. She is alarmed by the sudden stomping but the blurry man stops this one, speaking calmly and the other figure nods reluctantly. Seung goes back to sleep.

This happens often, she thinks. She catches glimpses. Each time she tries to hold on to these small fleeting moments but they just slip through her fingers.

A low, quiet voice drifts, pushing through the humid, stagnant air. It speaks of regret and it makes her sad. “ _Mianhae.”_ It is quiet and hoarse. The voice stops. Is it watching her? She can’t tell, this body is too tired.

Seung is pulled from sleep by a melodious sound. Words flow freely in a silent rage. This one sounds angry, accusing. She wants to say something but the blurry man suddenly drifts into view and bids her goodnight as he places his hand on her forehead.

“ _Cham kan man yo_ ,” She pleaded with the blurry man as a familiar blue washed over her, “ _Cham si man yo.”_

_Please wait a minute. Just another moment._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i suddenly disappeared, hopefully i can post more regular updates now hhhhh


	4. She Finds You Funny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the supporters so far! i'm going to try and update more regularly now, once a week at least, promise. maybe.  
> also translations, if not in the chapter, are at the bottom.  
> also! points to anyone who knew who the Blurry Man and That One were from the previous chapter are!

Pain is the first to greet her. Even before Seung Bae opens her eyes, she feels the cold sting of metal shackles and her neck aches from hanging in the same position for too long. Her knees cry in protest as she attempts to stretch them out, loud cracks echoing in the small enclosed space. She can hear the sharp sound of steel being unsheathed and her eyes widen in surprise at the guards with their cold glares. 

Where was she? What had she-

Before she could be given more time to dwell on her thoughts, a door, hidden in darkness, burst open in front of her. The light revealed two familiar figures and she immediately responded with a quiet, “Fuck.”

This was still happening. She looked down at her hands and the sight of unfamiliar claws greeted her instead. She still wasn’t her. ‘ _ Anywhere but here _ ,’ She thought to herself, angry and frustrated. In the corner of eyes that didn’t belong to her, she could see the offending objects the guards held in their hands being put away. The tall-no, small, woman  circled her, her piercing stare sending a chill down her spine.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now.” 

She did not wait for the shock of the situation to settle in, “ The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you.”

Even if she still believed it to be a prank, her words were enough to scare Seung into confirming her fears. The sheer hatred emanating from these two women would have been enough that if she didn’t know how the event were meant to play out, she might have truly believed she had become a murderer. How was she even meant to respond to that? Everyone’s dead, what are you going to do?

“Hey, yeah, about that-”

Cassandra Pentaghast did not wait for anyone. Certainly not for murderers to stop their panicked rambling, as it only served to fan the flames of her burning hatred for them. She snatched the qunari’s hand from her, causing the shackles dig further into her already sore skin. “Explain  _ this _ ,” She hissed at Seung.   The magic in her hand flared and crackled in response, making Cassandra drop it in what appeared to be disgust. Her skin, still featuring scars from her previous encounter with the accursed magic, seared in pain as the lightning marked her skin, making Seung cry out as tears welled up in her eyes. It was like hitting an already open wound, the pain intensified from last time and made her double over.

The women, as if granting the Seung a small mercy, allowed the mark to settle before expecting a response. Seung’s hard breaths cut through the silence that had been filled with tension. What was she supposed to say? What would the real qunari, Adaar say in her place? She wasn’t meant to be here, wasn’t meant to take the place of their saviour. She was a good person. A decent person. A person who didn’t deserve to take on the role of a messiah.

But right now they didn’t even see her as that, a person. Both women watched her like she was shit on their boots.

“How…how do I explain something like this?” She wanted to cuss at Cassandra. Yell at her for treating her this way. She didn’t even know the whole story! She didn’t know what happened so what right did she have to pass judgement on her? But Seung held back. They might kill her. Kill Adaar. Then she might return home. Or be lost to this world forever. 

Cassandra snarled in response and Seung bit back the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. She would play it safe. She wasn’t supposed to know so she wouldn’t act like she did. Not until she was in a safer position at least. 

“You find this funny, prisoner?” Leliana asked, her voice calm but clearly outraged. Seung tilted her head up, still smiling, only to see Cassandra looking ready to beat the shit out of her. “I don’t know what this is,  _ shibseki. _ I’m just as confused as you are,” She spoke nonchalantly, as if the situation didn’t bother her. But maybe, if she didn’t act scared, they wouldn’t see the fear choking her.

“You’re lying!” Cassandra growled at her as she grabbed her shirt. The violent action rattled Seung’s shackles and she winced.

“We-” Leliana reached for Cassandra to gently pull the woman away but her words were interrupted by Seung, who was becoming increasingly annoyed.

“If I’m still alive, you clearly need me for something,” She watched as Cassandra slowly stepped back, “Out with it.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Leliana asked curiously, intrigued by Seung’s attitude, “How this began?”

_ ‘Not this shtick again.’  _

“Something was there, chasing me,” She spoke. ‘ _ It was going to kill me.’ _

“And a woman.” ‘ _ Your Divine, Dorothea.’ _

The Seeker spoke up again, her tone commanding but kind, “Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift.”

As Leliana stalked out of the room, Cassandra worked on removing the heavy shackles binding Seung to the prison. Her breath hitched as she agitated the fresh wounds on her left hand but the Seeker still tied a rope tight around her wrists, lest she have thoughts of escape, or something equally ridiculous.

Seung didn’t ask what really happened. She already knew. She just let the Seeker guide her out of the dank, dark dungeon as she took in her surroundings. The doors of the Chantry opened wide, revealing the familiar sight of Haven, much, much larger than she had anticipated, blanketed by snow. It was nearly blinding but her eyes quickly adapted as she looked around and took a much needed breath of fresh air. Her feet sunk into the soft, delicate snow, reminding her of her towering height and the additional weight she had put on. She really wasn’t herself anymore. Cassandra stopped, letting Seung pause and take notice of the cracks of lightning in the sky. 

“ _ Gaejasik.” Motherfucker. _

_ ‘Ah yes,’ _ She thought,  _ ‘And here we have a swirling vortex of unstable rift magic in the sky that practically screams, “Look at me! Fear me! I am the demon shit hole!”’ _

The Seeker didn’t turn around at her cuss, but spoke familiar words that Seung had heard a hundred times over. “We call it  _ the Breach _ ,” She said, her tone low and gruff, “It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour.” She turned around to look at Seung, “It’s not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave.”

Seung did not speak, opting to watch the Seeker instead with a bored expression as the woman turned around. “Unless we act,” She added firmly, “The Breach may grow until it swallows the world.”

As the sky cried in fury, Seung screamed, gritting her teeth as her left hand lit up with lightning and her knees buckled from underneath her. 

Cassandra continued a speech she could only half listen to with the burning pulses that scorched her skin, “Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads...and it is  _ killing  _ you. It may be the key to stopping this but there isn’t much time.”

Seung ripped her sleeves with her teeth frantically and peeled back the layer, eyes examining the damage after the immense pain had passed. The mark had scarred Adaar’s skin with a blistering, angry red. 

“If anything, at least you’re letting me choose how I die,” Seung replied, her face still contorted. She knew that the way events normally played out she would never die but normally the supposed saviour of theirs had never been a small, korean woman with little to no battle experience. All she knew how to do was  _ Hapkido _ , and even then how useful would throwing demons over her shoulder be? It wouldn’t be particularly threatening here.

“Then?” Cassandra spoke hopefully.

“Help me up,” She demanded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shibseki - Bitch  
> Hapkido - The, judo equivalent, Hapkido is a korean martial art designed to toss people on their back quickly and effectively. Also you hit people.

**Author's Note:**

> hey there, i got sucked into the void that is the modern girl in thedas subgenre and now im sitting here crying and writing fanfiction.  
> i just want to thank comavampure and spiderbrojenkins for helping me with ideas and feedback and everyone else in the mgit server!  
> ((hoo boy descriptions kill me))


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